MORE COURSE INFO and ADVICE

Course Goals

1. Stay physically and mentally healthy and maintain intellectual and personal connection during a potentially difficult time.
2. I want you to gain a solid understanding of the basic mathematical ideas behind chaos and fractals. As part of this, I hope you'll leave this course thinking somewhat differently about order and disorder, simplicity and complexity.
3. I want to help you improve your basic facility with algebra and functions, your problem solving skills, your ability to create and interpret different types of graphs, and your overall mathematical confidence.
4. I want you to gain a sense of how math and physics is done, and gain an awareness that these are not static, "dead" disciplines. I want you to gain a greater understanding of science as an institution and science as a culture, and how science intersects and influences other creative and scholarly areas.
5. Have fun while growing and learning.

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Texts

1. Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick. This is a popular science book and is not a traditional text. I have around a dozen copies I can loan out.
2. Chaos and Fractals: An Elementary Introduction, David Feldman, Oxford University Press, 2012. I'd suggest checking out the list of errata. Multiple copies will be on reserve on the library and I have copies to loan.
3. We'll also read a few short papers, and maybe a short story and some poetry. The exact assignments will depend on the interests of the class.

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Evaluation

Your evaluation will be loosely based on the following:

• Weekly Homework Assignments: 50 percent.
• Final Project: 25 percent.
• Class/Lab Participation/Engagement: 10 percent.
• Short Reflection Pieces: 15 percent.

In general, I recommend against grades; I believe they are more likely than not to interfere with genuine, reflective learning. This is especially true in this class, where I have found that many of the class activities really don't lend themselves to letter grading. I do not have any quota of A's, B's, etc.

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Course Structure and Flow

This is the eighteenth(!) time I've taught this course, so I have a pretty good feel for how the class will go. That said, more than any other course I teach, this course varies from offering to offering depending on the interests and personalities of the students in the class.

• This course is somewhat difficult to describe. I think the most important pre-requisite is to approach the material with an open mind and a sense of exploration and adventure. With a little intellectual initiative I think you will find many opportunities to make connections between the material of this course and other interests of yours.
• This class is large, by COA standards, at least. The class was large the last time I taught it, and I think it worked well.
• There will be two smaller discussions sections/labs that will allow us to do some more interactive labs and investigations and also discuss some readings.
• In many traditional math classes the instructor shows you how to do a bunch of problems, you go home and obediently practice the stuff your instructor showed you, and then you take a test. This class will not be like that. There will be some traditional-style homework, but there will be many other exercises too.
• Some of the homework assignments are more like laboratory exercises. That is, rather than doing a quick problem and getting a simple answer, I'll ask you to explore some stuff, make observations, and look for patterns. Frequently these assignments will have open-ended questions. You will enjoy these assignments more if you approach them as you would a good laboratory exercise in a science class.
• We will do a wide variety of things in the discussion sections, including some hands-on exercises and explorations.
• This class is not a systematic review of algebra or trigonometry; it is not explicitly designed to prepare you for further math classes. Nevertheless, you will review and strengthen your understanding of algebra and functions by taking this course.
• The material we'll be reading about in Gleick's book, and the work we'll do in my book and in class will shift in and out of phase with each other. The two books don't cover the same topics in the same order. In the past this hasn't been a problem; it's just something to be aware of.
• In terms of the math stuff we'll be doing, it will take a few weeks to get to the chaos material. Before we do, what we're doing might seem odd. The initial exercises we do might seem boring or irrelevant, but this phase of the course is essential groundwork for what's to follow.
• There will frequently be readings or exercises assigned for class. When this is the case, you should read carefully and be ready share ideas and questions.

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Stuff about Homework

1. There will be an assignment due almost every Friday. It is essential that you do these assignments, as this is how one learns math, and also this is most of what your evaluation will be based on.
2. There will be two parts to almost every homework assignment:
   • Problems to be submitted on WeBWorK
   • Problems to be submitted on "paper" (a scanned pdf) on google classroom
3. WeBWorK is an online homework system. There are three reasons why I use WeBWorK:
   • You get instant feedback while doing the work, so you can learn right away from your mistakes. You can submit solutions many times until you get everything correct.
   • Some problems are randomized so that you will all get slightly different versions of the questions. This means that collaborating with other students will be maximally effective, since you'll have to share solution methods and not just the final answer.
   • Since the problems are automatically marked, I can spend more time helping you and won't have to spend as much time grading.
4. If you need extra time for one or two of the homework assignments, it's not a big deal. But be mindful to not fall farther behind every week.
5. I do not expect all of the homework assignments to be easy; I don't expect you to be able to sit down and do them easily the first time. Don't let yourself get frustrated. I strongly suggest working with others and seeking help if you need it.
6. You are strongly encouraged to work together on homework. You can also consult me, class tutors, other faculty, friends, and family. However, the homework you hand in should represent your own understanding.
7. As I plan on sending out homework assignments and other information via email/google classroom, it is important that you check your email/classroom regularly.

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Stuff about the Reflection Assignments

There will be one or two reflection assignments. The goal of this assignment is for you to spend time reflecting on and digesting some of the themes of this course. Explore some ideas from the class that have captured your imagination. Your piece should show evidence of sustained inquiry. Find something that interests you or perplexes you and explore. Push your ideas and (gently) push yourself. Ideally, your piece should be emotionally and intellectually satisfying to you. Choose a question, word, phrase, issue, image, equation, person, quotation, or idea from the readings or discussion and dig deeply.

I suspect many of you will write a paper that is an essay or is generally essay-like. If so, your paper should be around two-three pages in length. However, there are many other options:

• You could write a short story, a lyric essay, a poem.
• You could create a drawing, a cartoon, a painting.
• You could collaborate with someone else in the class and record a dialog, or jointly create something. If you choose a non-essay option, your piece should be roughly equivalent to a two-three page essay. (I honestly don’t know what that means.)

You can collaborate with another student on the reflection assignments if you wish.

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Help Sessions

The Teaching Assistants and I will have a handful of help sessions every week. You are warmly invited and encouraged to attend these sessions. Help sessions are relaxed, informal, and hopefully fun. Things that happen at help sessions:

1. The TAs and/or I am around to offer help on the homework.
2. Some students do most of the homework while at a help session. They work through problems alone or with others, and find it comforting to know that help is immediately at hand if needed.
3. Others do the problems at home and come to the help session with specific questions.
4. Some students work in groups at help sessions, others work more or less alone.
5. Help sessions are also a chance to ask general questions about the course. Conversations also sometimes wander into other areas: politics, the state of the world, what's for dinner, what classes are offered next term, and so on.
6. Help sessions are a great way to meet other students in the class.
7. Often there will be coffee/tea and/or snacks.

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Individual Meetings

I am happy to meet with students one-on-one. The best way to set up an appointment is to send an email. There are lots of reasons why you might want to meet with me:

1. You have some in-depth questions that there isn't time to explore in a help session.
2. You have a question that you think is too basic or you're uncomfortable asking in a help session. (You shouldn't be uncomfortable, since, as the saying goes, there are no dumb questions! But I understand that you might be uncomfortable nevertheless.)
3. You want to explore possibilities for energy projects on campus or in the community.
4. You want to discuss some challenges you're facing in the class.
5. You want to talk about other classes in energy or physics, or internships, senior projects, etc.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if there's anything you want to discuss. You should also feel free to reach out to the TAs.

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Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

It is my intent that students from all backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that students' learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength, and benefit. I aim to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability, age, religion, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture.

Learning about diverse perspectives and identities is an ongoing process. I am always looking to learn more about power and privilege and the harmful effects of racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and other forms of discrimination and oppression. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally, or for other students or student groups. If something was said or done in class (by anyone, including me) that made you feel uncomfortable, please let me know. You can also reach out to Provost Ken Hill, or Associate Kourtney Collum or Jamie McKown.

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Statements about Academic Honesty and Hours of Academic Engagement

• I am required to remind you that: "By enrolling in an academic institution, a student is subscribing to common standards of academic honesty. Any cheating, plagiarism, falsifying or fabricating of data is a breach of such standards. A student must make it his or her responsibility to not use words or works of others without proper acknowledgment. Plagiarism is unacceptable and evidence of such activity is reported to the academic dean or his/her designee. Two violations of academic integrity are grounds for dismissal from the college. Students should request in-class discussions of such questions when complex issues of ethical scholarship arise."
• I am also required to say that: You should expect to spend 150 hours of academically engaged time on this course, or 15 hours per week. In addition to 4.5 hours per week in class or discussion section, in a typical week you'll spend 2 hours reading and preparing for class and 8.5 hours attending help sessions and completing assignments.